Lower Gwynedd seeks funding for damage from Hurricane Sandy

LOWER GWYNEDD — Lower Gwynedd Township will be eligible for relief from the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy once it officially establishes a county hazard mitigation plan, according to officials.

Solicitor Marjorie Brown announced at the Feb. 26 board of supervisors meeting that a draft of the Montgomery County Hazard Mitigation Plan was sent to the Lower Gwynedd Township fire marshal and police chief Dec. 10, 2012, and changes were suggested.

Township Manager Larry Comunale said the document lists every potential hazard and disaster that may occur in Lower Gwynedd and lists the resources available, along with how the township would mitigate loss of life and property.

In order for Lower Gwynedd Township to receive financial assistance for the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy from both the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, it needs to have a hazard mitigation plan in place, Comunale said.

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Comunale said county officials have said the suggested changes made by the fire marshal and police chief will be added soon to the final draft. Members of the board will also meet with county officials to discuss the upgrades sometime in the near future.

In other business, a settlement has been reached between Northwestern Human Services and Lower Gwynedd Township regarding a zoning dispute over the property 761 Tennis Ave.

NHS had applied to the zoning hearing board to use the property as a group home for “severely mentally retarded individuals,” according to court papers.

After the zoning hearing board denied the application, NHS filed an appeal of the decision before the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas, according to Brown and Comunale.

According to court papers, NHS also sued the township because it believed the township violated the Fair Housing Amendments Act, the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act after it denied NHS the ability to provide group housing to “severely mentally retarded individuals” at that property.

The settlement allows NHS to use the property as a group home for the individuals, according to Comunale.

In order for the agreement to be finalized, the board granted Chairwoman Kathleen Hunsicker authority to sign the agreement on behalf of the township, so that the agreement could be taken to the state for approval.

Brown said the township is not the only party involved in the settlement, so state approval won’t likely come for a while.

Also the four-page final draft of the township newsletter will be sent to the board soon and will be mailed to residents by the third week in March, Comunale said. Most of the content in the newsletter relates to the newly formed Lower Gwynedd Business Association.